When Li Shi woke up from the cave in the morning, she found a gun and a dagger where Luo Jun had been lying. She realized Luo Jun had left.
Her feet were still not fully healed, but they didn't hurt as much as the previous night.
She slipped on her socks, now stained purple, and carefully put on her shoes, slowly walking out of the cave.
The cold outside air sent a chill through her body.
She saw a desolate wilderness around her, and a sense of fear from being away from people eroded her already fragile independence.
The strength she displayed came from the presence of others by her side.
As long as someone was with her, she wouldn't feel afraid, even if it was a child younger than her – at least that would trigger her protective instincts.
She looked around, swallowed hard, then ran back and picked up the gun from the ground, tucking the dagger into her belt.
This gave her a sense of security.
Although Luo Jun had taught her many survival skills, when she truly had to face being alone, she lacked the courage.
So she walked up the rocky slope, looked around, then came back down and sat in the cave.
"Uncle will surely come back for me! I'll just wait here."
Li Shi comforted herself like this, checking the remaining food and fresh water.
She didn't dare eat too much food, as digestion would consume a lot of water, making her feel very thirsty. Her bamboo tube only had two-thirds of water left.
It would barely last two days and one night.
As long as she had food, going hungry for a day or two wouldn't be a problem.
Thinking this, she put the stakes back in front of her.
There were many ways to overcome fear and loneliness, but most of them required environmental advantages. Reading, knitting, playing with electronics, and other distracting activities helped, but none of those were available in the wilderness. So it was easy to sink deeper into those feelings.
Just like some patients with claustrophobia, when they were alone in a sealed space, their attention would be completely focused on fear.
So as long as they didn't leave that enclosed environment, those with claustrophobia would become more and more crazed.
Unless there was something to distract their attention from the oppressive feeling of the environment.
Although Li Shi had always thought of herself as an independent, strong woman, the truth was, she had no choice. Her parents were not around, and until she was six years old, she didn't even live in China – she was cared for by a nanny in a villa. Once, the nanny died in a car accident on her way to work, and Li Shi's parents didn't know about it until two days later.
A five-year-old child lived alone at home for two days, with no one else around, day or night.
One can only imagine...
After that, Li Shi was terrified of being alone.
But to resist this inner weakness, she always put on a very strong appearance to hide her true fear.
It was a psychological self-defense mechanism.
She sat alone in the cave, hugging her knees tightly, nervously watching the narrow entrance, her body trembling as tears unwittingly flowed out.
...
The women on the beach cried helplessly around the bonfire.
There were eighteen women in total, eleven young women and seven middle-aged women.
Among the eleven young women, seven were recently married, and some of their husbands had already died in the woods, while others had entered the forest with the captain and the mercenaries.
It was unknown whether they could make it back alive.
Now they needed a leader to guide everyone, as without the men, they could only rely on themselves to survive.
"We can't wait here anymore. Jones betrayed us, and the men have entered the forest with the mercenaries. Once they find what they're looking for, they will definitely kill our men. When they return to the shore and find the ship is gone, they won't spare us either."
The speaker was Aisha, the woman who had previously attended to Jones.
She had two young daughters, sixteen and eighteen, who were by her side, assisting their distressed mother.
"Where can we go? If we leave here, we'll starve and freeze to death!"
Someone said, as the women looked at their thin clothing.
"Yes, and if the men come back and don't find us here, they'll think we left with Jones."
The women couldn't make up their minds, especially those whose husbands were still part of the team – they were unwilling to leave.
Aisha saw their foolishness and felt anxious inside.
Although she didn't expect Jones to betray them, she had spent some time around him and knew how cunning he was. Being around such a person, she must have picked up some insights.
Even a little would provide her a chance at survival.
"Haven't you witnessed their cruelty? They're just as cold-blooded and ruthless as Jones. We're no longer useful to them, and with your men in their hands, they're sure to kill them and worry you might retaliate. They won't let you live either. Even single women – do you really think they'll take good care of you? Other than venting their desires, as long as they don't starve you to death, they can continue abusing you. And if you get pregnant, do you think you can survive here?"
Aisha's words silenced the women.
It was one thing on the island, where there were safety measures. But on this deserted island, those men only interested in their own gratification would never care whether the women lived or died.
In such an environment, getting pregnant would be a death sentence. Not to mention the risks of infection during childbirth, even the basic living conditions during pregnancy couldn't be met. With malnutrition, the fetus would die in the womb, and the woman would miscarry. Without medical care, it was equally deadly.
"But we have nowhere to go!"
The women cried.
Aisha thought of Luo Jun, but she couldn't mention him, because then the women would accuse her of hiding information from them and she would be ostracized.
Moreover, she had previously been with Jones, so their resentment would be directed at her.
She wasn't afraid for herself, but feared for her two daughters, that they might be attacked. Human nature could not withstand such trials – the harsher the living conditions, the deeper the hatred would grow.
Once it erupted, lives could be lost!
So she could only temporarily lead them away from here, until Luo Jun's reinforcements arrived.
Of course, she didn't know there would be no reinforcements.
And she now regretted telling Jones about Luo Jun. If she hadn't, things might have turned out differently.
"We've been living on the island for two months and learned some basic survival skills. We can survive in the forest. We don't need to go far, just follow the river upstream. As long as we have water, we can find a campsite by the river, and with the rice Jones left for us, we can survive for some time."
Aisha looked at the piles of rice and canned food by the tents.
Those were what Jones had ordered them to bring from the ship – Jones' final act of kindness.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
